Príncipe

File:Principe.jpegs, insomuch that it is not safe to walk in the Woods without a gun. The harbour is very convenient to Careen Ships in, and most Ships Bound from Africa to America with Slaves put in here for Food, Water etc."]]

The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese on 17 January 1471 and was first named after Saint Anthony ("Ilha de Santo Antão"). Later the island was renamed Príncipe ("Prince's [Island]") by King John II of Portugal in honour of his son Afonso, Hereditary Prince of Portugal (1475–1491). The first settlement, the town Santo António, was founded in 1502.[http://www.hpip.org/def/en/Contents/Navigation/GeographicToponymicNavigation/Place?a=236 Santo António] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213195752/http://www.hpip.org/def/en/Contents/Navigation/GeographicToponymicNavigation/Place?a=236 |date=2019-12-13 }}, Heritage of Portuguese Influence Subsequently, the north and centre of the island were made into plantations by Portuguese colonists using slave labor. These concentrated initially on producing sugar and after 1822 on cocoa, becoming the world's greatest cocoa producer.Pinnock, D & Pinnock, G (2012) Chocolate Island. Africa Geographic. February 2012 Since independence, these plantations have largely reverted to forest.

The island's fortress named Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina on a point inside Baía de Santo António (Santo António Bay) was built in 1695. In 1706, the city and the fortress were destroyed by the French. From 1753 until 1852, Santo António was the colonial capital of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6SufcWs47LgC&pg=PA73|title=The History of Central and Eastern Africa|last=McKenna|first=Amy|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|year=2011|isbn=9781615303229|via=Google Books|pages=73}}

Príncipe was the site where Einstein's theory of relativity was experimentally corroborated by Arthur Stanley Eddington and his team during the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919; photographs of the eclipse revealed evidence of the bending of starlight, in accordance with Einstein's predictions (see Eddington experiment).

On April 29, 1995, the Autonomous Region of Príncipe was established, corresponding with the existing Pagué District.[https://www.repository.utl.pt/bitstream/10400.5/2392/1/Disserta%C3%A7%C3%A3o_anabarreira_FINAL_Vers%C3%A3o_Definitiva.pdf Cooperação Descentralizada Príncipe – Portugal: Eficiência da Existência de Redes de Cooperação] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814175153/http://www.repository.utl.pt///bitstream/10400.5/2392/1/Disserta%C3%A7%C3%A3o_anabarreira_FINAL_Vers%C3%A3o_Definitiva.pdf |date=2017-08-14 }} (2010), Ana Maria Luciano Barreira, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, p. 42-43

{{see also|Autonomous Region of Príncipe#Settlements}}

Príncipe has one town, Santo António, and an airport (IATA code: PCP, ICAO: FPPR). Some other smaller settlements are Sundy and Porto Real.

Portuguese is the official and main language of the island. Portuguese creoles are also spoken: Principense or Lunguyê and, in some scale, Forro are also spoken.

In 1771, Príncipe had a population of 5,850: 111 whites, 165 free mulattoes, 6 mulatto slaves, 900 free blacks, and 4,668 black slaves. In 1875, the year when slavery was officially abolished in the archipelago, Príncipe's population had dropped to only 1,946, of whom 45 were Europeans, 1,521 were free natives, and 380 were freemen.

In 2018, Príncipe had a population of 8,420 people.

In 2006, the Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe was established, covering the mountainous, densely forested and uninhabited southern part of the island of Príncipe.{{cite web|url=https://arleciosoares13.wordpress.com/areas-protegidas/parque-natural-do-principe/|title=Parque Natural do Príncipe|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-date=7 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107071549/https://arleciosoares13.wordpress.com/areas-protegidas/parque-natural-do-principe/|url-status=live}} There are numerous endemic species of fauna on Príncipe, including birds such as the Principe scops owl, the Príncipe kingfisher, Príncipe seedeater, Principe starling, Príncipe sunbird, Dohrn's thrush-babbler and the Príncipe weaver. The Príncipe white-eye also occurs on São Tomé. Geckos include the Príncipe gecko, frogs include the palm forest tree frog and the Príncipe puddle frog. Marine fauna includes Muricopsis principensis, a mollusc and the West African mud turtle.

Príncipe sunbird (Anabathmis hartlaubii) male.jpg|Príncipe sunbird

Príncipe golden weaver (Ploceus princeps) male.jpg|Príncipe golden weaver

Príncipe speirops (Zosterops leucophaeus).jpg|Príncipe speirops

Principe glossy starling (Lamprotornis ornatus).jpg|Principe glossy starling

Príncipe puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus dispar).jpg|Príncipe puddle frog

Oceanic tree frog (Hyperolius drewesi).jpg|Oceanic tree frog

{{main|Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve}}

UNESCO established the Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve in 2012 under the Man and the Biosphere Programme. The reserve encompasses the entire emerged area of the island of Príncipe, and its islets Bom Bom, Boné do Jóquei, Mosteiros, Santana, and Pedra da Galei, and the Tinhosas islands.{{cite web|title=World Network of Biosphere Reserves|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/africa/sao-tome-and-principe/the-island-of-principe/|website=Island of Príncipe|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=1 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809072358/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/africa/sao-tome-and-principe/the-island-of-principe/|url-status=live}}

• Damião Vaz d'Almeida, former Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe
• João Paulo Cassandra, former autonomous president of the island
• José Cassandra, current president of the island
• Sara Pinto Coelho, colonial born Portuguese writer
• Camilo Domingos, singer
• Manuela Margarido, writer
• Nuno Espírito Santo, association football goalkeeper and manager

File:Praia Boi.jpg|Praia do Boi, in Príncipe

File:Praia Banana - panoramio.jpg|Praia das Bananas, São Tomé and Príncipe

File:Principe Island 3441.jpg|Carambola in Príncipe

File:Principe 3181.jpg|Lagoa do Caixão, Príncipe Island

File:Principe 1220.jpg|Beach in Príncipe

File:Igreja Nossa Senhora da Conceicao (21130421485).jpg|Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in Santo António, São Tomé and Príncipe.

File:Bom Bom Island Bridge (21050088389).jpg|Bom Bom Islet, Príncipe

{{Reflist}}

{{Sister project links}}

{{Portal|São Tomé and Príncipe|Geography}}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20181003205144/http://www.janelanaweb.com/viagens/mprincipe.html Map of Príncipe]}}
• [http://www.principe.st Principe portal]
• [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d52bb102-3a36-11e3-9243-00144feab7de.html#axzz3ESYehbpo "Príncipe: a haven on earth"] Financial Times
• {{Wikiatlas|São Tomé and Príncipe}}
• {{Wikivoyage inline|Sao Tome and Principe}}

{{Pagué}}

{{Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe}}

{{STP-districts}}

{{Portuguese overseas empire}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Principe}}

Category:Former Portuguese colonies

Category:Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe

Category:Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Autonomous regions